Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea

 Medically Reviewed by Christine Mikstas, RD, LD on April 21, 2021

1/15

Common Ground
Aside from plain water, coffee and tea are the most enjoyed
beverages around the world. Both have things in them that
may help your health, and they’re an excuse to get together
with a friend -- that can be good for you, too.

1 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

2/15

Coffee Basics
The beans grow on flowering trees found in more than 50
countries around the world, including the U.S. (Hawaii).
They’re roasted and ground, then boiled, dripped, steamed, or
soaked to make coffee, depending on where you live and how
you like it.

3/15

Tea Basics
More than two-thirds of the world’s people drink this beverage,
which is made from the leaf of a bush called Camellia sinensis.
You typically steep the leaves in steaming hot water for a few
minutes then serve the tea hot or over ice.

2 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

4/15

Green, Oolong, Black: What’s

the Difference?
Tea makers dry and crush the leaves to bring out their oils,
then they might expose them to air for a while, depending on
the kind of tea they want to make. This is called “fermentation”
-- it’s a chemical reaction that affects the flavor of the leaves
and turns them brown.
The longer they’re exposed, the more caffeine they have.
Green tea uses leaves that haven’t been fermented at all,
which is why it has almost no caffeine. Oolong uses leaves that
have been fermented for a time, while black tea leaves are
fermented the longest.

5/15

Free Radicals
These chemicals can damage your cells and lead to disease and
illness. Your body makes them when it turns certain foods into
energy and when sunlight hits your skin. You also can get them

3 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

from things you eat and drink. Tea and coffee help your body
fight free radicals with chemicals of their own called
antioxidants.

6/15

Type 2 Diabetes
Both tea and coffee are linked to a lower chance of getting this
condition, which affects how your body uses blood sugar
(glucose) for fuel. Coffee has lots of a certain antioxidant that
helps keep your blood sugar lower and more stable -- the main
challenge of diabetes. And antioxidants from tea may help your
body process sugar in your blood.

4 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

7/15

Parkinson’s Disease
Coffee and tea may help against this serious disease, which
attacks the nerve cells in your brain and makes it hard for you
to move. Some studies suggest that caffeine can ease early
symptoms of Parkinson’s, while others show that drinking
coffee and tea might help protect your brain from it in the first
place.

8/15

Heart Disease
Doctors once thought people with this should cut down on tea
and coffee, because of the caffeine, but now it seems they may
protect you from it. In one study, people who drank 3 to 5 cups
of coffee a day were less likely to have a buildup of calcium in
the vessels that bring blood to your heart muscle. That could
mean a lower chance of heart disease.

5 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

9/15

Liver Disease
This is another organ that probably benefits from your morning
cup of joe. Drinking 3 or more cups of coffee a day may lower
your odds of having chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver
cancer -- and it may be an alternative medicine for people who
have those issues. Coffee has more than 100 different chemical
compounds in it, and scientists are trying to figure out what
they do and how they might work together to help your liver.

10/15

Stroke
This happens when blood is cut off from a certain area of your
brain, and a cup of coffee or tea a day might lower your
chances of having one. This may be because coffee can ease
inflammation and help control your blood sugar levels. And
drinking black tea is linked to lower blood pressure, which can

6 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

make you less likely to have a stroke.

11/15

Cancer
Coffee and green tea might help prevent breast and prostate
cancers, while all kinds of tea may protect you against the
kinds of cancer that affect the ovaries and stomach.
Researchers think antioxidants in tea, including ones called
polyphenols, are to thank for this.

12/15

Alzheimer’s Disease
This disorder attacks your brain’s nerve cells (neurons) -- it can

7 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

cause memory loss and changes in thought patterns and

behavior. Coffee has antioxidants that may help protect
neurons, and green tea has some that may help prevent the
clusters of proteins believed to cause the disease.

13/15

Gallstones
These are tiny pieces of hardened cholesterol and other
substances that form in your gallbladder -- a small pear-
shaped organ near your belly that helps with digestion. They
can sometimes cause serious pain and health problems if
they’re not treated. But coffee can lower your chances of
getting them because it helps move fluid through your
gallbladder and makes the cholesterol less likely to crystallize
into gallstones.

8 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

14/15

Weight Loss
If you drink low-calorie beverages like coffee and tea instead of
sugary ones, you may find it’s easier to lose weight. They can
give you a satisfying pick-me-up with almost no calories. Of
course, that doesn’t work if you add a bunch of sugar and
cream -- so stick with the basic brew.

15/15

Don’t Overdo It
Despite the health benefits of coffee and tea, too much caffeine
can make you anxious or irritable and make it hard to sleep. It
also can make you less able to hold onto calcium, which can
lead to bone fractures (calcium keeps bones strong). Talk with
your doctor if you have questions about how much is too much
for you.

Show Sources
IMAGES PROVIDED BY:

1) Left to right: ollinka / Thinkstock, ibrakv / Thinkstock

9 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

2) ArisSu / Thinkstock

3) Krivinis / Thinkstock

4) voyata / Thinkstock

5) RICTOR S LEW / Medical Images

6) AndreyPopov / Thinkstock

7) 3D4Medical

8) sudok1 / Thinkstock

9) stockdevil / Thinkstock

10) johnkellerman / Thinkstock

11) yodiyim / Thinkstock

12) haydenbird / Getty Images

13) 3D4Medical

14) tetmc / Thinkstock

15) monkeybusinessimages / Thinkstock

SOURCES:

Alzheimers.net: “Benefits of Green Tea for Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America: “About Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Berkeley Wellness: “Types of Tea: Black, Green, Oolong, and Blends.”

Harvard School of Public Health: “Other Healthy Beverage Options,” “Ask the Expert: Coffee
and health,” “What is it about coffee?”

Mayo Clinic: “Gallstones.”

National Coffee Association: “Coffee Around the World.”

National Institutes of Health: “Caffeine and adenosine,” “Coffee: A Selected Overview of

Beneficial or Harmful Effects on the Cardiovascular System?” “Low Calorie Beverage
Consumption Is Associated with Energy and Nutrient Intakes and Diet Quality in British Adults,”
“No Association of Coffee Consumption with Gastric Ulcer, Duodenal Ulcer, Reflux Esophagitis,
and Non-Erosive Reflux Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of 8,013 Healthy Subjects in Japan,”
“Coffee and tea: perks for health and longevity?” “Gallstones,” “Quercetin, not caffeine, is a
major neuroprotective component in coffee,” “NIH study finds that coffee drinkers have lower
risk of death,” “Tea consumption and risk of stroke: a dose-response meta-analysis of
prospective studies,” “Coffee and acute ischemic stroke onset,” “Coffee consumption and
mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis,”
“Coffee and tea consumption and the risk of Parkinson's disease,” “Neuroprotective and anti-
inflammatory properties of a coffee component in the MPTP model of Parkinson's disease,”
“Does long-term coffee intake reduce type 2 diabetes mellitus risk?”

National Parkinson Foundation: “What's Hot in PD? Caffeine as a Potential Treatment for
Parkinson’s Disease.”

10 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM
Health Benefits of Coffee and Tea https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-coffee-tea-benefits...

© 2019 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. View privacy policy and trust info 

11 of 11 7/1/2022, 4:50 PM